System and method for organizing a plurality of local meeting groups

ABSTRACT

A system and method for facilitating supervisory control of localized meeting groups is provided. A method includes the steps of generating a master meeting group based on input received from a master organizer, generating a plurality of authentication tickets based on input received from the master organizer of the master meeting group identifying a local organizer for each authentication ticket of the plurality of authentication tickets, transmitting the plurality of authentication tickets to each of the local organizers, authenticating a plurality of local organizers based at least partially on an authentication ticket for each local organizer, and generating a plurality of meeting subgroups associated with the master meeting group based at least partially on the at least one meeting parameter. Each meeting subgroup is associated with at least one local organizer and is generated based at least partially on input received from the at least one local organizer.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.16/023,213, filed Jun. 29, 2018, which is a continuation of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 15/157,685, filed May 18, 2016 (U.S. Pat. No.10,033,767), which claims benefit of priority from U.S. ProvisionalPatent Application No. 62/162,965, filed May 18, 2015, which areincorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains materialwhich is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has noobjection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent documentor the patent disclosure, as it appears in the Patent and TrademarkOffice patent file or records, but otherwise reserves all copyrightrights whatsoever.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to managing in-person meetinggroups over a network environment and, in particular, a system andmethod for facilitating the management of a plurality of local in-personmeeting groups at an administrative and/or supervisory level.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Generally, it is an object of the present invention to provide a systemand method for organizing a plurality of local meeting groups thatovercomes some or all of the deficiencies of the prior art.

According to a preferred and non-limiting embodiment, provided is acomputer-implemented method for facilitating supervisory control oflocalized subgroups of a master group, comprising: generating a mastermeeting group based on input received from a master organizer, the inputidentifying a topic and at least one master meeting group parameter;generating a plurality of authentication tickets based on input receivedfrom the master organizer of the master meeting group, the inputidentifying a local organizer for each authentication ticket of theplurality of authentication tickets; transmitting the plurality ofauthentication tickets to each of the local organizers; authenticating aplurality of local organizers based at least partially on anauthentication ticket for each local organizer; and generating aplurality of meeting subgroups associated with the master meeting groupbased at least partially on the at least one meeting parameter, whereineach meeting subgroup is associated with at least one local organizerand is generated based at least partially on input received from the atleast one local organizer.

In non-limiting embodiments, generating the master meeting group maycomprise creating a template including a plurality of master meetinggroup parameters, wherein the plurality of meeting subgroups aregenerated at least partially based on the template such that anassociated local organizer can customize at least a portion of theparameters but cannot customize the topic or the at least one mastermeeting parameter. In some examples, each of the plurality ofauthentication tickets comprises a unique token that uniquely identifiesa local organizer. Moreover, each of the plurality of authenticationtickets may comprise a hyperlink including the unique token. In someembodiments, the at least one master meeting parameter may comprise agroup name, and each meeting subgroup of the plurality of meetingsubgroups may have a unique name that is based at least partially on thegroup name or includes at least a portion of the group name.

In some embodiments, each meeting subgroup may be associated with aplurality of in-person events hosted within a geographic region.Further, each authentication ticket may identify the geographic region.In some embodiments, the method may also include generating a userinterface on at least one mobile device of a member of a meetingsubgroup, the user interface comprising an attendance tool programmed orconfigured to input attendance information for an event associated withthe meeting subgroup. In some examples, the attendance tool may comprisea list of members of the meeting subgroup and a plurality of selectableoptions associated with each member in the list of members that, whenselected, indicate that a particular member attended the event.

According to another preferred and non-limiting embodiment, provided isa system for facilitating supervisory control of localized meetinggroups affiliated with a master meeting group, including at least oneserver computer comprising at least one processor, the at least oneserver computer programmed and/or configured to: generate a mastermeeting group based on input received from a master organizer, the inputidentifying a topic and at least one master meeting group parameter;generate a plurality of tickets based on input received from the masterorganizer of the master meeting group, the input identifying a localorganizer for each ticket of the plurality of tickets; transmit theplurality of tickets to each of the local organizers; authorize aplurality of local organizers based at least partially on a ticket foreach local organizer; and generate a plurality of meeting subgroupsassociated with the master meeting group based at least partially on theat least one meeting parameter, wherein each meeting subgroup isassociated with at least one local organizer and is generated based atleast partially on input received from the at least one local organizer.

These and other features and characteristics of the present invention,as well as the methods of operation and functions of the relatedelements of structures and the combination of parts and economies ofmanufacture, will become more apparent upon consideration of thefollowing description and the appended claims with reference to theaccompanying drawings, all of which form a part of this specification,wherein like reference numerals designate corresponding parts in thevarious figures. It is to be expressly understood, however, that thedrawings are for the purpose of illustration and description only andare not intended as a definition of the limits of the invention. As usedin the specification and the claims, the singular form of “a”, “an”, and“the” include plural referents unless the context clearly dictatesotherwise.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1A-1B illustrate graphical user interfaces (GUI) for creatingauthentication tickets for allowing organizers to start and/or organizea meeting group according to the principles of the present invention;

FIG. 2 illustrates an email communication including an authenticationticket according to the principles of the present invention;

FIGS. 3A-3B illustrate GUIs for accepting an authentication ticketaccording to the principles of the present invention;

FIG. 4 illustrates a GUI for indicating that an authentication ticket isaccepted according to the principles of the present invention;

FIG. 5 illustrates a GUI for signing into the system according to theprinciples of the present invention;

FIG. 6 illustrates a GUI for signing into the system on a mobile deviceaccording to the principles of the present invention;

FIGS. 7A-7D illustrate an attendance tool GUI according to theprinciples of the present invention;

FIG. 8 illustrates a schematic diagram of one embodiment of a system fororganizing in-person meetings according to the principles of the presentinvention;

FIG. 9 illustrates a map interface showing a plurality of local meetinggroups affiliated with a master meeting group according to theprinciples of the present invention;

FIG. 10A illustrates a GUI for scheduling an event according to theprinciples of the present invention;

FIG. 10B illustrates a GUI for choosing a template for scheduling anevent according to the principles of the present invention;

FIGS. 11A-11C illustrate activity GUIs according to the principles ofthe present invention;

FIG. 12 illustrates a GUI for viewing and selecting members of meetinggroups according to the principles of the present invention; and

FIG. 13 illustrates a meeting group topic GUI according to theprinciples of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

For purposes of the description hereinafter, the terms “upper”, “lower”,“right”, “left”, “vertical”, “horizontal”, “top”, “bottom”, “lateral”,“longitudinal”, and derivatives thereof shall relate to the invention asit is oriented in the drawing figures. However, it is to be understoodthat the invention may assume various alternative variations and stepsequences, except where expressly specified to the contrary. It is alsoto be understood that the specific devices and processes illustrated inthe attached drawings, and described in the following specification, aresimply exemplary embodiments of the invention. Hence, specificdimensions and other physical characteristics related to the embodimentsdisclosed herein are not to be considered as limiting.

As used herein, the terms “communication” and “communicate” refer to thereceipt, transmission, or transfer of one or more signals, messages,commands, or other type of data. For one unit or device to be incommunication with another unit or device means that the one unit ordevice is able to receive data from and/or transmit data to the otherunit or device. A communication may use a direct or indirect connection,and may be wired and/or wireless in nature. Additionally, two units ordevices may be in communication with each other even though the datatransmitted may be modified, processed, routed, etc., between the firstand second unit or device. It will be appreciated that numerous otherarrangements are possible.

In non-limiting embodiments of the present invention, individualmeetings may be created and managed through a meeting event platformsuch as that described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/009,873 toWhalin et al., filed on Jan. 20, 2011 and titled “Web-Based InteractiveMeeting Event Facility,” the description of which is hereby incorporatedby reference in its entirety.

In a preferred and non-limiting embodiment of the present invention, asystem and method for organizing a plurality of localized meeting groupsallows for a master organizer to create, manage, and/or control aplurality of localized meeting groups that are each co-organized by oneor more community managers or local organizers. The term “localorganizer,” as used herein, refers to a user that has privileges topartially create, manage, and/or control (e.g., co-organize) a regional(e.g., localized) meeting group that is under the supervisory control ofa master organizer. The present invention allows for a master organizerto, for example, start and grow local meeting groups and communities fora particular topic, enterprise, organization, and/or group that existson a global or nationwide scale. In this manner, a master organizer maymanage a plurality of localized meeting groups (e.g., chapters) througha single account and log-in (i.e., a “mothership” or “parent” account).Such management may allow for control of at least certain aspects of thelocalized meeting groups at a supervisory level by a master organizer,without requiring the master organizer to individually manage and/ormaintain all aspects of each localized meeting group.

As an example, a company that maintains a software development platformmay want to encourage local meeting groups of software developersspecializing or otherwise interested in that platform. To do so, thecompany may create a master meeting group that specifies certain mastermeeting group parameters such as, for example, a topic (e.g., thesoftware development platform), at least a portion of a title,sponsorship available to the local meeting groups, number of members,meeting times, meeting agendas, and/or the like. In some examples, amaster organizer may want to specify a particular date and/or time for ameeting to occur for all of the localized meeting groups affiliated withthe master meeting group. The master meeting group parameters may definea template for certain aspects of the localized meeting groups and/orevents hosted by the localized meeting groups.

In a preferred and non-limiting embodiment of the present invention, amaster organizer for an enterprise or other type of organization may paya fee to the meeting group platform to allow for a plurality oflocalized meeting groups to be created as a subset of the master meetinggroup (e.g., affiliated with the master meeting group). In this manner,local organizers may be able to start local meeting groups that areaffiliated with the master meeting group without, or with fewer, fees.The master organizer can thereby encourage the creation and organizationof a number of localized meeting groups by local organizers, at aregional level, to promote and further the goals, projects, and/oragendas of the enterprise or organization. It will be appreciated that,in other non-limiting embodiments, the master organizer may not berequired to pay any fees. Various fee structures and fee-sharing schemasare also contemplated.

Referring now to FIG. 1A, a graphical user interface (GUI) for creatingtickets 101 is shown according to a preferred and non-limitingembodiment. As used herein, the terms “ticket” or “tickets” refer to oneor more invitations, links, tokens, and/or other authorizationmechanisms that provide local organizers with the authority to create anew localized meeting group that is affiliated with a master meetinggroup, or to affiliate an existing localized meeting group with a mastermeeting group. As an example, a master organizer for an enterprise orother organization may access the GUI 101 through a website or mobileapplication log-in or by other means. The GUI 101 may include a list 107of associated local meeting groups, including a name for each localmeeting group and a count of the number of affiliated localized meetinggroups (e.g., “467” in the example shown). The GUI 101 may also includea ticket creation option 103. As shown in FIG. 1A, the ticket creationoption 103 comprises a button and an input field for the masterorganizer to input a number of tickets. However, it will be appreciatedthat the ticket creation option 103 may comprise any number of differentselectable options for a master organizer to choose including, forexample, various input fields to input email addresses of localorganizers, invitation text, and/or the like. As used herein, the term“selectable options” may refer to one or more aspects of a GUI forfacilitating user input such as, but not limited to, push buttons, radiobuttons, checkboxes, drop-down menus, input fields, and/or the like.

Referring now to FIG. 1B, a further view of the ticket creation GUI 101is shown according to a preferred and non-limiting embodiment. Here, theticket creation option 103 has been selected and a link 105 is generatedand displayed on the GUI 101. As shown, the link 105 includes a uniquetoken (e.g., “2f7bv9a3”) generated for the ticket. The token may begenerated through any number of mechanisms, including but not limited toa random number generator, a hash function, and/or the like. The link105, when selected by a recipient, may allow for a user to be authorizedto create and/or organize a local meeting group that is affiliated withthe master meeting group. For example, when a recipient navigates to theURL embodied in the link, the token may be used to allow forone-time-only access to a further GUI that allows for the user to createa local meeting group or affiliate an existing meeting group with themaster meeting group. It will be appreciated that a ticket may beaccepted and/or redeemed by a recipient in various other ways.

Referring now to FIG. 2, an email communication 201 of a ticket is shownaccording to a preferred and non-limiting embodiment. The emailcommunication 201 may include the link 105 generated through the GUI 101shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B. The email communication 101 may beautomatically generated by the platform at the request of the masterorganizer or, in other examples, may be custom written by the masterorganizer through the GUI 201 shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B or a separateGUI. In other examples, the link 105 may be copied into an email orother form of communication that is sent from the master organizer toanother individual. Upon selecting the link 105, the user may be takento the ticket redemption GUI 301 shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B. It will beappreciated that the link 105 may also be conveyed via text messaging,social media messaging, instant messaging, and/or other like electroniccommunications.

Referring now to FIGS. 3A and 3B, a ticket redemption GUI 301 is shownaccording to a preferred and non-limiting embodiment. The ticketredemption GUI 301 may be displayed upon a user selecting the link 105containing the ticket or upon entering in an authorization code, token,or the like into an interface. The ticket redemption GUI 301 may alsoinclude a selectable option 305 for agreeing to terms and conditions. Asshown in FIG. 3A, a ticket may be applied to a user's existing accounton the platform or, alternatively, may be used to create an accountthrough the platform. Tickets may allow for a user to become anorganizer for an existing local meeting group affiliated with a mastermeeting group or start a local meeting group that is affiliated with amaster meeting group. The default ticket redemption GUI 301 may be usedfor starting a new local meeting group, as shown in FIG. 3A, althoughvarious implementations are possible. However, through the use ofselectable options 303, the user may also have the option of applyingthe ticket to an existing meeting group, thereby affiliating theexisting group with the master meeting group.

With reference to FIG. 3B, the ticket redemption GUI 301 is shown withthe selectable option 305 chosen to indicate acceptance of the terms andconditions. A button 307 may change from “Start group” to “Applyticket,” as an example, depending on what selectable option 303 ischosen. FIG. 3B also shows that a user has selected to apply the ticketto an existing local meeting group (e.g., Gator Football Fans IstanbulMeetup) instead of starting a new local meeting group. In this manner,by redeeming the ticket (e.g., choosing to “Apply Ticket”), the user caneither become the local organizer for the existing local meeting group(that is already affiliated with the master meeting group) or convertthe existing local meeting group (that is not yet affiliated with themaster meeting group) to an affiliated group.

Referring now to FIG. 4, an acceptance GUI 401 is shown according to apreferred and non-limiting embodiment. The acceptance GUI 401 mayindicate, for example, that the existing local meeting group is nowaffiliated with the master meeting group or that a new local meetinggroup has been successfully created.

Referring now to FIGS. 5 and 6, sign-up GUIs are shown for a meetingplatform according to a preferred and non-limiting embodiment. FIG. 5illustrates a desktop sign-up GUI 501, and FIG. 6 illustrates a mobilesign-up GUI 601. The sign-up pages may allow a user to sign in to ameeting group platform using an existing account for a third-partyservice provider (e.g., Facebook or Google in the examples shown).

FIG. 7A illustrates an event GUI 701 according to a preferred andnon-limiting embodiment. The event GUI 701 may be displayed to localorganizers and/or local meeting event hosts and include selectableoptions to, for example, take attendance for an event associated with alocal meeting group, edit event information for an event associated witha local meeting group, and/or cancel an event associated with a localmeeting group. The event GUI 701 shown in FIG. 7A is a mobile GUI thatis displayed on a mobile device, such as a smartphone. Upon selectingthe take attendance option, a user may be brought to an attendance toolGUI 703 shown in FIG. 7B. In some non-limiting embodiments, the eventGUI 701 may be automatically displayed in response to determining thatan event is occurring or is soon to occur based on a date and/or time ofthe event and a current date and/or time.

Referring now to FIG. 7B, an attendance tool GUI 703 is shown accordingto a preferred and non-limiting embodiment. The attendance tool GUI 703includes a list of possible attendees 709 for a local event that isaffiliated with a master meeting group. The list of possible attendees709 may be comprised of a list of users that submitted RSVPs to theevent or, alternatively, a list of all users that belong to a localmeeting group. It will be appreciated that the list may be compiled invarious other ways. Each entry on the list may include an image 711 orother icon representing the user and a selectable option 707 to indicatewhether the user attended the event. Another selectable option 705 mayfacilitate a local organizer or an event host to share the attendancetool GUI 703 with other users to allow one or more individuals to takeattendance. Information input into the attendance tool GUI 703 may betransmitted to a server where it is stored, or it may be stored locallyon a mobile device until it can be transmitted to a server.

FIG. 7C illustrates the attendance tool GUI 703 according to a preferredand non-limiting embodiment. Here, the local organizer or event host haschosen to share the attendance tool GUI 703 with other users tofacilitate the taking of attendance. A link 713 is generated forallowing other users to access the attendance tool GUI 703 and inputattendance information. The link 713 may be automatically transmitted toselected users or may be shared through any other electronic means(e.g., email, instant message, text message, etc.). In a preferred andnon-limiting embodiment, any user with access to the link 713 may beable to access the tool. The meeting group organizer and/or event hostmay be able to disable the share link so that guest users of theattendance tool GUI 703 are unable to share access to the attendancetool GUI 703 with anyone else.

Referring now to FIG. 7D, the attendance tool GUI 703 is shown withseveral attendees selected. Selectable options 707, to indicate whethera user attended the event, may be a checkmark, symbol, or differentcolor, as examples, to specify which users have attended and which usershave not. It will be appreciated that various other indications may beused, and that the indications may be part of or separate from theselectable options 707 that are displayed on the attendance tool GUI703. By allowing multiple users to have access to the attendance toolGUI 703, as explained above, local meeting organizers and event hostscan ensure that attendance is properly taken. As shown in FIG. 7D, asearch option 715 may also be provided to allow for users to search forparticular attendees.

It will be appreciated that, in non-limiting embodiments, users maycheck in to events through the use of their mobile devices. For example,the location of a user's mobile device, as determined through a GPS unitor other sensor information, may be used to automatically confirm that aparticular user has attended the event by comparing location informationof the device during the time of the event with the location of theevent.

Referring now to FIG. 8, a system 1000 for organizing a plurality oflocalized meeting groups is shown according to a preferred andnon-limiting embodiment. A meeting platform 801 may include one or moreserver computers and software for providing GUIs and other data todevices, and for receiving data from devices. A meeting group database803 may include one or more data structures for organizing mastermeeting group parameters, local meeting groups, and events. A computer805 used by a master organizer is in communication with the meetingplatform 801 and displays a GUI 807 that allows for a master organizerto input master meeting group parameters, generate tickets, and managethe localized meeting groups associated with a master meeting group.

With continued reference to FIG. 8, a local meeting group A 809 hasseveral users, including client devices 813, 815, 817. This localmeeting group 809 is affiliated with the master meeting group createdand/or managed by the master organizer and may be associated with aparticular region. For example, if the master meeting group is forAndroid developers, the local meeting group 809 may be a New York-basedAndroid developer meeting group. Likewise, a local meeting group B 811may include client devices 819, 821, 823 and may be a Pittsburgh-basedAndroid developer meeting group. Both local meeting groups 809, 811 areaffiliated with the master meeting group for Android developers, andthere may be many more localized meeting groups that are also affiliatedwith that master meeting group. As another example, if the mastermeeting group is for Gator football fans, local meeting groups 809, 811for Gator football fans may be in two different geographic areas. Inthis manner, local meeting groups can be created wherever there areparties interested in a particular topic or agenda of a master meetinggroup.

Referring now to FIG. 9, a map interface 901 is shown according to apreferred and non-limiting embodiment. The system may generate the mapinterface 901 for a particular master meeting group to illustrate thelocations of each localized meeting group affiliated with that mastermeeting group. In the example shown in FIG. 9, the pins on the world maprepresent localized meeting groups that are affiliated with a mastermeeting group. The pins may differ based on the type of the localmeeting groups or a current state of the local meeting groups. Forexample, established local meeting groups may be displayed with greenpins and pending (or currently incubating) local meeting groups may bedisplayed with yellow pins. It will be appreciated that various legendschemes may be used to differentiate between local meeting groups.Further, in non-limiting embodiments, users may perform searches forlocal meeting groups through the map interface 901 by zooming into aparticular geographic region to see all local meeting groups in thatarea or by inputting a topic to find local meeting groups having thesame or similar topic.

In a preferred and non-limiting embodiment, the master meeting groupparameters input by a master organizer may be used to generate one ormore templates for a meeting group or event. Such templates may definepredetermined aspects of a meeting group or event, such as but notlimited to title, time, topic, meeting place, and/or the like, as wellas one or more aspects of GUIs that are displayed to local organizersand/or participants. For example, the look and feel of a meeting groupfacility, such as but not limited to the layout of information, font,color schemes, graphics, and/or the like, may be predetermined by themaster organizer and/or selected from a plurality of options. In thisway, a master organizer can copy and paste meeting groups or events tofacilitate the creation of additional groups or events and expansion ofthe master meeting group network.

Referring now to FIG. 10A, an event scheduling GUI 1001 is shownaccording to a preferred and non-limiting embodiment. The eventscheduling GUI 1001 may be presented to a local organizer to schedule alocal event or, in some examples, may be presented to a master meetinggroup organizer to schedule an event for several local meeting groups.The GUI 1001 includes a selectable option 1005 for choosing a date forthe event. As can be seen in FIG. 10A, the organizer may also have anoption to set the date at a later time instead of specifying one whenthe event is first created. A selectable option 1007 for choosing alocation can likewise be used by an organizer to set a location, such asa venue, or the organizer may choose to set a location at a later time.A text box 1009 also allows an organizer to enter a title or identifyingdescription for the event. Further information about the event may alsobe input into another text box 1011.

With continued reference to FIG. 10A, the event scheduling GUI 1001includes a template option 1003 which, when selected, displays atemplate selection GUI 1013 shown in FIG. 10B. Through the templateselection GUI 1013, an organizer can choose from a plurality ofpredefined options to facilitate the scheduling of an event. As anexample, the templates may include predefined master meeting groupparameters, such as but not limited to event title, event description,event date, event time, event venue, agenda, minimum or maximumattendance requirements, and/or the like. As shown in FIG. 10B, thetemplate selection GUI 1013 includes templates for a monthly eveningmeeting, a monthly lunch meeting, and a special event. It will beappreciated that various other templates may be available. Moreover, thetemplates may be created by a master meeting group organizer, one ormore local meeting group organizers, and/or be predefined by the meetinggroup platform.

Referring now to FIGS. 11A-11C, activity GUIs are shown according topreferred and non-limiting embodiments. FIG. 11A shows a member activityGUI 1101 that displays member activity data. In this example, a graph isshown to display the number of members over a time period. Selectableoptions may be provided to change the time period. FIG. 11B shows anorganizer activity GUI 1103 according to a preferred and non-limitingembodiment. The organizer activity GUI 1103 may show activity fromvarious local meeting group organizers to a master meeting grouporganizer. As shown, local organizers are listed with a contact optionand a status indication (i.e., stepped down, stepped up, etc.). FIG. 11Cshows an event activity GUI 1105 according to a preferred andnon-limiting embodiment. The event activity GUI 1105 displays the eventsacross multiple local meeting groups, the dates of those events, thenumber of RSVPs, and the total number of attendees. Selectable optionsmay be provided to change the time frame of the event data beingdisplayed. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that theGUIs may be in any format and may include various meeting group and/orevent parameters and visualizations (e.g., graphs, tables, charts,and/or the like) of those parameters. Various statistical and analyticaldata may also be generated and displayed.

Referring now to FIG. 12, a member GUI 1201 is shown according to apreferred and non-limiting embodiment. The member GUI 1201 may bedisplayed to a master meeting group organizer for viewing and selectingmembers of meeting groups. Selectable options may be presented throughthe GUI 1201 for exporting member data and searching member data basedon one or more parameters (e.g., chapter name, location, radius,country, member count, last event, and/or the like). The member GUI 1201may also facilitate a master meeting group organizer to send messages toone or more selected members. As an example, a master meeting grouporganizer may select all members displayed on the member GUI 1201 basedon search parameters, and send a mass email or other communication toeach of those users.

In a preferred and non-limiting embodiment, one or more tags may beassociated with a local meeting group or event. The tags may beidentifiers or words that uniquely identify a group or event, or asubset of groups or events, that can be used to search for groups orevents, recommend groups or events, or identify characteristics about agroup or event. In some examples, one or more tags may be specified bythe master organizer for associated local meeting groups. Tags may alsobe added by local organizers to the meeting groups or events. In someexamples, a predefined set of tags may be specified or selected by amaster organizer such that local organizers may choose tags to use fromthe predefined set to identify events. Further, local organizers mayalso specify their own tags to identify events and those tags and/or thepredefined tags may be made available to master organizers to keep trackof event types or topics.

Referring now to FIG. 13, a meeting group topic GUI 1301 is shownaccording to a preferred and non-limiting embodiment. The meeting grouptopic GUI 1301 includes a plurality of topic tags 1303 identifyingvarious topics associated with a meeting group. As described above,local organizers and/or master meeting group organizers may specify oneor more tags for an event or a meeting group, and these tags may be usedby users of the platform to find meeting groups and/or events related toa topic of interest. The meeting group topic GUI 1301 also includestrending topic data 1305 listing popular topics across one or moremeeting groups and/or events.

In a preferred and non-limiting embodiment, topics may be verified forexclusive use with a particular master meeting group. As an example,implementations of the system 1000 may allow master organizers torequest that a particular topic be reserved for a master meeting group.A topic may be verified and/or made exclusive by a human administratorthat reviews the requests or, in other embodiments, may be automaticallyverified and/or made exclusive by searching existing topics anddetermining that the topic is available. With reference to theabove-described “Gator football” example, a verified topic may be called“Gator Football Fans” and may be exclusively associated with officialsubgroups (e.g., local meeting groups) for the Gator football mastermeeting group.

In a preferred and non-limiting embodiment, various data analytics andreport generation tools may be provided to the master organizers andothers for generating usage and activity statistics for groups and/orusers. Statistics may concern the level of activity or engagement ofusers by analyzing a number of RSVPs, actual attendees, and/or otherevent data relating to meetings, meeting attendance, and user activity.In some embodiments, reports and analytics may be generatedautomatically and transmitted to master organizers in response topredetermined events or milestones occurring such as, for example, whena number of participants or local meeting groups meets or exceeds athreshold, after one or more events occur, and/or the like. Masterorganizers may also have “parent” or “mothership” accounts to allow themto manage multiple groups from within a single account.

Although the invention has been described in detail for the purpose ofillustration based on what is currently considered to be the mostpractical and preferred embodiments, it is to be understood that suchdetail is solely for that purpose and that the invention is not limitedto the disclosed embodiments, but, on the contrary, is intended to covermodifications and equivalent arrangements that are within the spirit andscope of the appended claims. For example, it is to be understood thatthe present invention contemplates that, to the extent possible, one ormore features of any embodiment can be combined with one or morefeatures of any other embodiment.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A computer-implemented method for facilitating supervisory control of localized subgroups of a master group, comprising: generating, with at least one processor, a master meeting group based on input received from a master organizer, the input identifying a topic and at least one master meeting group parameter; generating, with at least one processor, a plurality of authentication tickets based on input received from the master organizer of the master meeting group, the input identifying a local organizer for each authentication ticket of the plurality of authentication tickets; transmitting the plurality of authentication tickets to each of the local organizers; authenticating, with at least one processor, a plurality of local organizers based at least partially on an authentication ticket for each local organizer; and generating, with at least one processor, a plurality of meeting subgroups associated with the master meeting group based at least partially on the at least one meeting parameter, wherein each meeting subgroup is associated with at least one local organizer and is generated based at least partially on input received from the at least one local organizer.
 2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein generating the master meeting group comprises creating a template including a plurality of master meeting group parameters, and wherein the plurality of meeting subgroups are generated at least partially based on the template such that an associated local organizer can customize at least a portion of the parameters but cannot customize the topic or the at least one master meeting parameter.
 3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of authentication tickets comprises a unique token that uniquely identifies a local organizer.
 4. The computer-implemented method of claim 3, wherein each of the plurality of authentication tickets comprises a hyperlink including the unique token.
 5. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the at least one master meeting parameter comprises a group name, and wherein each meeting subgroup of the plurality of meeting subgroups has a unique name that is based at least partially on the group name or includes at least a portion of the group name.
 6. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein each meeting subgroup is associated with a plurality of in-person events hosted within a geographic region.
 7. The computer-implemented method of claim 6, wherein each authentication ticket identifies the geographic region.
 8. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising: generating a user interface on at least one mobile device of a member of a meeting subgroup, the user interface comprising an attendance tool programmed or configured to input attendance information for an event associated with the meeting subgroup.
 9. The computer-implemented method of claim 8, wherein the attendance tool comprises a list of members of the meeting subgroup and a plurality of selectable options associated with each member in the list of members that, when selected, indicate that a particular member attended the event.
 10. A system for facilitating supervisory control of localized meeting groups affiliated with a master meeting group, comprising at least one server computer comprising at least one processor, the at least one server computer programmed and/or configured to: generate a master meeting group based on input received from a master organizer, the input identifying a topic and at least one master meeting group parameter; generate a plurality of tickets based on input received from the master organizer of the master meeting group, the input identifying a local organizer for each ticket of the plurality of tickets; transmit the plurality of tickets to each of the local organizers; authorize a plurality of local organizers based at least partially on a ticket for each local organizer; and generate a plurality of meeting subgroups associated with the master meeting group based at least partially on the at least one meeting parameter, wherein each meeting subgroup is associated with at least one local organizer and is generated based at least partially on input received from the at least one local organizer.
 11. The system of claim 10, wherein the master meeting group is generated by creating a template including a plurality of master meeting group parameters, and wherein the plurality of meeting subgroups are generated at least partially based on the template such that an associated local organizer can customize at least a portion of the parameters but cannot customize the topic or the at least one master meeting parameter.
 12. The system of claim 10, wherein each of the plurality of authentication tickets comprises a unique token that uniquely identifies a local organizer.
 13. The system of claim 10, wherein each of the plurality of authentication tickets comprises a hyperlink including the unique token.
 14. The system of claim 10, wherein the at least one master meeting parameter comprises a group name, and wherein each meeting subgroup of the plurality of meeting subgroups has a unique name that is based at least partially on the group name.
 15. The system of claim 10, wherein each meeting subgroup is associated with a plurality of in-person events hosted within a geographic region.
 16. The system of claim 10, wherein each authentication ticket identifies the geographic region.
 17. The system of claim 10, wherein the at least one server computer is further programmed or configured to generate a user interface on at least one mobile device of a member of a meeting subgroup, the user interface comprising an attendance tool programmed or configured to input attendance information for an event associated with the meeting subgroup.
 18. The system of claim 17, wherein the attendance tool comprises a list of members of the meeting subgroup and a plurality of selectable options associated with each member in the list of members that, when selected, indicate that a particular member attended the event.
 19. A computer program product for facilitating supervisory control of localized subgroups of a master group, comprising at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium including program instructions that, when executed by at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to: generate a master meeting group based on input received from a master organizer, the input identifying a topic and at least one master meeting group parameter; generate a plurality of tickets based on input received from the master organizer of the master meeting group, the input identifying a local organizer for each ticket of the plurality of tickets; transmit the plurality of tickets to each of the local organizers; authorize a plurality of local organizers based at least partially on a ticket for each local organizer; and generate a plurality of meeting subgroups associated with the master meeting group based at least partially on the at least one meeting parameter, wherein each meeting subgroup is associated with at least one local organizer and is generated based at least partially on input received from the at least one local organizer.
 20. The computer program product of claim 19, wherein the at least one master meeting parameter comprises a group name string, and wherein each meeting subgroup of the plurality of meeting subgroups has a unique name string that is based at least partially on the group name string or includes at least a portion of the group name string. 